How to Find Common Equity on Financial Statements

September 15, 2011

By: Sapling Editor

Step 1

Find a public company’s balance sheet in either its 10-Q quarterly reports or in its 10-K annual reports. You can obtain these reports from the investor relations page on the company’s website or from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s online EDGAR database.

Step 2

Identify the amount of total stockholders’ equity, listed at the bottom of the “Stockholders’ Equity” section of the balance sheet. For example, assume the balance sheet shows $100,000 in total stockholders’ equity.

Step 3

Identify the amount listed on the “Preferred Stock” line item in the “Stockholders’ Equity” section to determine the par value of preferred stock. In this example, assume the company has $10,000 in par value of preferred stock.

Step 4

Subtract the par value of preferred stock from total stockholders’ equity to calculate common stockholders’ equity. In this example, subtract $10,000 from $100,000 to get $90,000 in common stockholders’ equity.